Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Interesting Facts About Songs for Ballroom Dancing

By Karri Owens


Whenever you think of ballroom dancing, you most likely think of slow music being played by a violin. Centuries ago, your opinions would have been very accurate. Ballroom dancing was originally performed to acoustic guitars, violins, and cellos. These kinds of music was appropriate at the time, as most ballroom dances were slow and incredibly precise. However, as time passed and ballroom dancing become popular, the music changed right combined with dances.

Gone are the days of the mellow acoustic strings; today, a number of music is used in ballroom dancing. The background music depends strictly on the kind of dance being performed. In ballroom dancing, you'll find over ten traditional dances with a lot of more variations, so obviously the songs will be different for each one. This is a look at some examples of music and songs befitting each dance style.

The paso doble can be a Spanish dance that demonstrates the bullfighter's bravery and agility. Often, the woman represents the matador's cape. The paso doble is a very intense and dramatic dance, therefore the music selected should fit the scene. Most of the time, the music for this particular dance is instrumental, but fast-paced using a dramatic appeal. The Spanish culture needs to be kept in mind, so choose music with horns, maracas, and acoustic guitars.

The jive is really a fun and upbeat dance that permits the dancers to express their careless personality. The moves are quick with many different fast kicks and spinning or twirling of the woman. Most of the jive is performed in a stationery place and does not involve moving around on the dance floor. Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" is a good example for the jive, as is well-known song, "Born to Hand Jive". Any song that follows this sort of tempo is appropriate for the jive.

The quickstep is often a combination of the swing and the jive. The steps are incredibly quick and movements must be fast and concise. This dance is usually best performed to instrumental music. A number of songs most commonly used for the quickstep are "Big Band", "Flash", and "Spoonful of Sugar". These songs have a cheery and upbeat tempo where you can 1940's dance club appeal.

The foxtrot is probably the most popular ballroom dances, although it can also be one of the most difficult to learn. The foxtrot is a very smooth dance with fluid movements, along with the movements are "slow, quick, quick, slow". This dance is considered to be elite and one of the most formal, so choosing music is definitely a challenge. Keep in mind that the music mustn't be very fast, but should follow combined with the steps. Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes" are wonderful choices for the foxtrot.

Although not all of the the ballroom dances, the cha cha is an extremely lively and even flirty design of dance. It is also fast-paced and combines a great deal of hip action with quick footsteps. This dance is probably the easier styles of ballroom dance in terms of choosing music. Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" are perfect songs for dancing the cha cha.




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